Check out Helen Hollick's fabulous novel - A Meadow Murder (A Jan Christopher Mystery, Episode #4)

 

A Meadow Murder
(A Jan Christopher Mystery, Episode #4) 
By Helen Hollick

Publication Date: 28th July 2023

Publisher: Taw River Press

Page Length: 153 Pages

Genre: Cosy Mystery

"As delicious as a Devon Cream Tea!" ~ author Elizabeth St John

"Every sentence pulls you back into the early 1970s... The Darling Buds of May, only not Kent, but Devon. The countryside itself is a character and Hollick imbues it with plenty of emotion" ~ author Alison Morton

***

Make hay while the sun shines? But what happens when a murder is discovered, and country life is disrupted?

Summer 1972. Young library assistant Jan Christopher and her fiancé, DS Lawrence Walker, are on holiday in North Devon. There are country walks and a day at the races to enjoy, along with Sunday lunch at the village pub, and the hay to help bring in for the neighbouring farmer.

But when a body is found the holiday plans are to change into an investigation of murder, hampered by a resting actor, a woman convinced she’s met a leprechaun and a scarecrow on walkabout...

Pick up your copy from your favourite bookstore - HERE!

Helen Hollick

First accepted for traditional publication in 1993, Helen became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, THE FOREVER QUEEN (titled A HOLLOW CROWN in the UK) with the sequel, HAROLD THE KING (US: I AM THE CHOSEN KING) being novels that explore the events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. 

Her PENDRAGON’S BANNER TRILOGY is a fifth-century version of the Arthurian legend, and she writes a nautical adventure/fantasy series, THE SEA WITCH VOYAGES. 

She has also branched out into the quick read novella, 'Cosy Mystery' genre with her JAN CHRISTOPHER MURDER MYSTERIES, set in the 1970s, with the first in the series, A MIRROR MURDER incorporating her, often hilarious, memories of working as a library assistant. The front cover of episode #4 A MEADOW MURDER is Helen’s actual hay meadow on her Devon farm.

Her non-fiction books are Pirates: Truth and Tales and Life of A Smuggler. She lives with her family in an eighteenth-century farmhouse in North Devon and occasionally gets time to write...

Social Media Links:
Website
Twitter
Facebook 
Amazon Author Page 
Goodreads 
Blog 
Subscribe to Helen’s Newsletter

Have a sneak-peek between the covers of The Shadow Earl by Stella Riley

 

The Shadow Earl
By Stella Riley
Audiobook narrated by Alex Wyndham

Publication Date: 15th July, 2023

Publisher: Stella Riley

Page Length: 433 pages

Genre: Historical Romance

At the end of his Grand Tour, somewhere between Athens and Constantinople, Christian Selwyn, the young Earl of Hazelmere, vanished - seemingly without a trace.

Time passes.  In London, his uncle and cousin move into his home … while his unofficial fiancée, Sophia, is left desolate and in limbo.  Finally, his friends – loyal and close as brothers – set out to search in person.  

Christian’s startling re-appearance at a grand ball takes society by storm and fuels endless speculation. Where has he been during these three missing years? What happened to him?  

And more importantly, how did it happen?  

Only one thing is clear.  The earl who left England five years ago, has returned a changed man.  A man with secrets.

Excerpt

Kit &  Sophia’s first private meeting after his return.

Their reunion ought to be have been joyful, Sophia thought.  Instead, anger was simmering inside her and Kit was behaving like a silent stranger. 

Christian wondered how she’d react if he told her that his skin no longer seemed to fit him; that sometimes he felt like a shadow, observing the world but not part of it.  Instead, he said baldly, ‘Had I not reappeared, would you have gone ahead with your betrothal to Basil?’

The question hit her like a punch. ‘Yes.  What else was I to do?’

He nodded.  ‘If you still wish to do so,  I will not stand in your way.’

And without warning, her anger boiled over.  Rising, she said, ‘If I still wish to marry Basil?  How dare you ask that! I never wished it.  Does the fact that I waited five years for you tell you nothing?’ 

Since she was standing, he did so too. ‘I was merely asking if – ’

‘You shouldn’t have needed to ask – you should have known!  But since you didn’t … this last year, I’ve lived with a litany of it being my duty to marry before Papa dies and leaves us all virtually penniless.  And you – you were never c-coming back because you were d-dead.’

Christian looked back at her, his face white. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘So you’ve said – so you should be.’  Pressing her lips together and spine very straight, Sophia looked him in the eye. ‘If your feelings have changed, say so.’

He walked away to the window, groping for words that might make sense. 

‘During my time … away … I couldn’t allow myself to think about you or home or any of the things I might never seen again. I couldn’t afford those … emotions. But now I’m free, I’m battered by feelings – none of them the ones I shut away. Those seem lost.  The truth is that I scarcely recognise myself any more.’

Her anger fell away. She wasn’t the only one who was hurting.  He was, too – and perhaps in worse ways. She said softly, ‘How long is it since Lord Wendover and Mr Shelbourne rescued you – if rescue is the right word?’

‘It is. And it’s been eleven weeks.’

Behind him, Sophia’s hand crept to her mouth.  Eleven weeks? After three years of captivity?  No wonder he’s still in emotional turmoil. How could he not be? 

~  *  ~

Pick up your copy HERE!

Stella Riley 

Winner of four gold medals for historical romance (Readers' Favourite in 2019, Book Excellence Awards in 2020, Global Book Awards in 2022 and Book Excellence Award in 2023) and fifteen B.R.A.G. Medallions, Stella Riley lives in the beautiful medieval town of Sandwich in Kent.

 

She is fascinated by the English Civil Wars and has written six books set in that period. These, like the 7 book Rockliffe series (recommended in The Times newspaper!) and the Brandon Brothers trilogy, are all available in audio, narrated by Alex Wyndham.

Stella enjoys travel, reading, theatre, Baroque music and playing the harpsichord.  She also has a fondness for men with long hair - hence her 17th and 18th century heroes.

Social Media Links:

Website  

Twitter 

Facebook 

Instagram 

Pinterest 

BookBub 

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads 

Check out an excerpt from Cindy Burkart Maynard's fabulous novel - Esperanza’s Way

Esperanza’s Way
By Cindy Burkart Maynard

Publication Date: June 13th 2023

Publisher: Historium Press

Page Length: 262 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Motivated by the memory of her mother dying in her arms, Esperanza resolves that she will one day walk the halls of the Scola Medica at Salerno and train to become a healer. Fate brought Amika, a talented herbalist, into her life and helped Esperanza take her first steps toward gaining the knowledge that would fulfill her dream. Unfortunately, a tragic accident forced Esperanza to flee Amika's home. Her journey toward finding the path to success is littered with stumbling blocks, some more difficult to avoid than she expected.

Excerpt

The city of Napoli shimmered in the late season sunshine. The desperate, cloying heat of summer had abated from a full boil to a subtle simmer. Ships and vessels of all sorts crowded the harbor, bobbing on the sun-drenched sea. Hulking cogs, like Ibrahim’s ship, rested their flat bottoms on the harbor’s soft seabed, their square sales furled tightly against their masts. Sweating men groaned under heavy loads as they descended the gangway. The sounds of shouting in many languages were like lyrics of a song in which the creaking boards of ships provided the bass notes, and seagulls shrieking above sang soprano. The triangular sails of dhows hung limp after their voyage from the Red Sea and eastern Arabia to Napoli’s bustling port. . . 

A hand on Esperanza’s shoulder startled her back into reality. A robust man in a short, royal blue tunic and finely woolen hose loomed over her. Around his neck hung a thick gold chain with gold fleur de lis pendant. The footman’s firm hand gently steered her toward an ornate carriage. This can’t be happening, she thought as it jerked forward, propelled by four strong horses. Curiosity overcame anxiety as they climbed higher up the slopes of Vesuvius, the sleeping volcano. Deep green olive groves gave way to aromatic lemon trees and fields of rye and barley. 

The peasant cottages, though simple, were not hovels, and many of their occupants paused, leaning on their hoes, to watch them pass by. They looked healthy, with ruddy complexions and leathery skin from laboring under the powerful Neapolitan sun. She did not stop gaping at the scenery until they slowed to a halt at an imposing stone tower that marked the entrance to the small village adjoining the villa. A lone guard swung open a wrought iron gate and Esperanza’s carriage rolled into the village. 

The carriage jostled its way over the cobblestones, through the village square, and down a narrow street to a stone tower, identical to the one through which they just passed, to the far side of town. As they rumbled along, townspeople called to the driver. 

“Hey, Paolino! What are you delivering to the Signore today? Is she as beautiful as the last one?” 

“Ciao, Paolino, your family will expect you at eight bells. Don’t be late like you were the last time.” 

“Paolino, you devil,” A saucy black-eyed beauty tossed her abundant wavy tresses over her shoulder as she cast him a provocative sidelong glance. “Later, si?” 

Paolino didn’t respond to any of them, just kept his eyes focused on the tower gate. Once outside the walls of the village Esperanza caught sight of the villa, perched on the volcano’s flanks, a short distance above town on a well-traveled trail. 

“And this,” he said, gesturing to the elegant edifice, “is where you will live.” Inside, a bustling town square, a church, and a scattering of shops, and residences huddled in the midday sun.

Where to buy:

Finding the Way (Book 1)

Esperanza’s Way (Book 2)

Cindy Burkart 

Cindy Burkart Maynard is passionate about history, and the natural world, a passion that adds rich detail and context to her historical fiction novels. Her characters come to life on the page as they portray what it was like to live in another time and place. She weaves compelling, dramatic stories based on strong characters facing daunting challenges. She has co-authored two nonfiction works about the Colorado Plateau and the Desert Southwest and contributed articles to Images and Colorado Life Magazines. She has been a Volunteer Naturalist for Boulder County for more than twenty years, and served as a Docent at the Sonora Arizona Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ.

Awards:

Colorado Authors League Award Winner for Western Literature

Women Writing the West Award Finalist

WILLA Literary Award finalist for soft cover fiction.

Readers’ Favorite Five Star Author

Winner of the Marie M. Irvine award for Literary Excellence

Professional Affiliations:

Historical Novel Society of North America

Lighthouse Writers

Women’s Fiction Writers Association

Colorado Authors League

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers

Authors Guild

Social Media Links:

Website

Publisher author page 

Twitter 

Facebook 

Instagram 

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads

Book Review - The Sense of Other (A Love Beyond Reason Novel) by Angelina Kalahari

The Sense of Other

(A Love Beyond Reason Novel)

By Angelina Kalahari

Love, Betrayal, and the Unseen.

How do you live in a world where love seems impossible?

Lee O'Reilly is a troubled young man haunted by a powerful, dark force that hungers for his soul. Determined to find love and acceptance, Lee navigates a treacherous route. But when he crosses paths with James, an enigmatic actor and singer, Lee's life takes an unimaginable turn.

Together, Lee and James embark on a journey filled with hedonism, creativity, and the allure of the unknown. Their friendship is forged through shared struggles with drugs and mental health. Until tragedy strikes and James meets an untimely demise in Lee's bathroom.

But the story doesn't end there.

In the afterlife, Lee and James's connection transcend the boundaries of the physical world. As they navigate the mysterious realms beyond, Lee discovers a chance at the love and acceptance he has always craved. But will he seize this opportunity, or will the dark force within him threaten everything he holds dear?

Immerse yourself in the irresistible mystery of TheSense of Other, a gripping Paranormal Women’s Fiction novel inspired by true events. It’s the third book in the Love Beyond Reason series written in British English by award-winning author, Angelina Kalahari. This spiritual journey delves deep into themes of the supernatural, interwoven with a captivating storyline. Prepare for a rollercoaster ride of emotions, laced with colourful language and sensual encounters. And brace yourself for a mind-bending twist that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew.

Review

This novel is an extraordinary work of paranormal/spiritual fiction. Told in the first person the author takes us on an incredible journey, that is told from the viewpoint of Lee O'Reilly. Lee is born into a world of abuse, and it was really harrowing reading about how his young life was shaped by his emotionally absent mother and his often angry and aggressive grandmother. At times this made for some very difficult reading, but I thought it was masterfully written.

The story is incredibly fast-paced and the hours simply flew by as I lost myself in this book. There are quite a few distressing moments in this novel, which makes it a very intense read, and once finished I had to sit for a moment to digest all that I have read. 

Angelina Kalahari is a gifted author who always writes gripping, very human, stories and this book is no exception. It is simply brilliant from beginning to end. 

I highly recommend this novel.

Amazon

Angelina Kalahari

Angelina entered this life among the red dunes of Namibia’s deserts. There, where the Milky Way flung it splendour across heaven’s canvas, she found her voice.

As her family traversed the desert in search of crops for their herds of karakul sheep, a childhood filled with strange legends, amazing animals and wonderful people, became her universe.

The gift of music by Mario Lanza and other tenors accompanied them on their travels and called to her soul’s desire to share her voice.

When she left to study with other voice obsessives, it introduced her to a world far beyond her beloved Africa and brought fantastic performance opportunities.

Storytelling, such a big part of her childhood, became an inherent element in her performances, and she never stopped writing down her stories. When, due to illness, she could no longer share her voice as she had through singing opera, writing became her perfect creative outlet.

She writes contemporary romance to explore love, women's fiction to understand love and middle-grade novels to give love. What more is there than love?